BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

SETH, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 32-8 road victory over Sherman High School Friday night.

The Panthers, coached by Hady Ford, jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and led 12-8 at the half. They scored another touchdown in the third quarter and two more in the final stanza to seal the road win.

“In the first half we didn’t come out and play very well. I think some of that is being young and learning how to handle success. We did better in the second half,” Coach Ford said.

Sophomore quarterback Elijah Fluty passed for 192 yards completing 15-19 attempts and a pair of touchdowns. Fluty also rushed for a couple of scores for Tug Valley.

Sophomore running back Adam Slone rushed for 164 yards and hit pay-dirt for a touchdown in the third frame, while freshman tailback Bryson Elia rushed for 123 yards.

Elia caught three passes for 56 yards, while wide receiver Brady Brewer, another 10th grader, caught four passes for 110 yards and a TD. Senior Tanner Urconis caught the other touchdown pass from Fluty. Urconis scored the first TVHS touchdown in the game.

“We did a good job on keeping a balanced offense. The more balanced we can be, the better our offense can work. We got to keep working on the small details of our offense and get better every week,” Ford added. “That needs to be our attitude of getting better individually so we can get better as a team. We also need to learn how to finish. A few times we’re in scoring range and can’t finish the drive. We have to be able to finish.”

On defense, Tug Valley was led by Buddy Marcum with nine tackles, while Luke Bartram had seven, Austin Smith had six stops and Dakoda Walker five tackles and an interception. The Panther defense shut out the Tide in the second half.

Caleb Totten kicked a pair of extra points for TVHS.

Tim Hager scored the lone TD for the Sherman Tide and he also scored the 2-point conversion in the second quarter for the home team. Hager led Sherman with 83 rushing yards.

“To be 2-0 is a great way to start the season. As I said earlier we need to learn how to handle success. When you’re not used to winning, it’s easy to lose your focus. We still have eight games in the regular season and a lot of good teams along the way. We can’t get satisfied with what we’ve done. We have to raise the bar,” Coach Ford concluded.

Tug Valley will hit the road again this week traveling to Symmes Valley, Ohio.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Tug Valley: 6 6 6 14 – 32

Sherman: 0 8 0 0 – 8